olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Okay, peeps, help calm me down.... This morning, right after DH left, the girls came screaming in to me at the computer that there was a snake in the house! I immediately called DH and said get home NOW!!! I was hoping though that the snake was really a worm or something, and the kids were mistaken. Anyway, long story short, there was a baby copperhead about 6 to 8 inches long partially on the rug and partially on the hardwood in front of the big picture window in my dining room. The scary thing is my girls stand barefoot in front of this window every morning and wave goodbye to daddy. This morning, though, they were watching him pass from the back window. My mind can't stop going to the "what ifs" - they could have stepped on the baby copperhead. :eek: DH is my hero - we got the snake killed, which took about ten minutes since we were trying to spare my dining room rug - and we got it in a plastic tub. DH caught the neighbor leaving and he also confirmed he believed it was a copperhead. My house is pretty new - almost 3 years old, so it's pretty secure as far as "openings". We also keep the house clean and uncluttered - so it's not like a safe haven of hiding places. The only thing we can figure is that the front door weather stripping on the bottom has really started to wear and has a hole in it. I've really noticed it this week, and had made a mental note to fix it soon. Can you tell what this weekend's project is? ;) So, anybody have any encouraging snake stories about how it was the LONE incident and NEVER EVER happened again. PLEASE?? DH did get a flashlight and go throughout the whole house just checking things out. My friend also told me to tell him to check the dryer vent. Other suggestions? Shanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Check your vents in general (air ducts too) and a peek under the house (if you have a crawl space) would be a good idea, albeit a dangerous one if there are others. We had a black snake living under the kitchen cabinets as a kid. No one could figure out how he got in, he was there for a few weeks and then disappeared. It never came back :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I would go online and MAKE SURE that it was a copper head. We found a snake crawling in our garage about a month ago and thought sure it was a copperhead, but we went online and found that it was actualy a something something milk snake. There are LOTS of snakes that are marked similarly. Do you still have the carcass to compare it to? Don't just assume it was. It will make you feel much better if you know the snake in your house was NOT poison. As for it just being in your house. EEK! :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hscherger Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 YIKES!!! Please tell me you live somewhere farther south than Kansas.:scared: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I don't want to alarm you but if it was a baby then there could be others from a nest somewhere close by. If it were me, I'd call a wildlife removal company to come and check the house over. Scary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pip Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 That's it. I'm NOT coming over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 :svengo: Well, that certainly beats the 4ft. long rat snake and 3 garter snakes we have removed from the house. Make that 2 garter snakes. One is still living in my mud room. Like a pp said, perhaps it was just a milk snake. Those are very similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 It was a medium-sized snake, and she saw it in the closet with the water heater in it, so I assume the snake came in around the water pipes??? Mama opened the closet door, saw the snake, slammed the closet door, grabbed me up and ran to the neighbors' house -- leaving my little sister napping in her crib! She called the police because she didn't know what else to do. An officer came and looked, but didn't see the snake. We never saw that snake, or any other snake, in the house again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I've only seen snakes outside our house and the closest was one taking a short cut across the front porch right under the front door and that was a harmless one. DH and DS had a close call with a full grown copper head in our driveway one night and DH and BIL found a baby something (all they figured out before killing it was that it was a vicious little thing) in the wood pile. I'm already nervous about going out in our yard ... after reading this I'm nervous about being inside too. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jec3113 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 They can come up through the toilets. However, a copperhead isn't a water snake... I don't know. If you have a crawl space under the house it would be worth having the exterminator out. We have two outdoor cats and believe it or not they help keep the snakes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacie Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 So, anybody have any encouraging snake stories about how it was the LONE incident and NEVER EVER happened again. PLEASE?? Sorry, I can't help with this one. I've had four inside in the last five years. :svengo: Dh said they were all kingsnakes, but I do have my suspicions about two. I think he was trying to make me feel better that they were "good" snakes. He doesn't realize that in my world, there are no "good" snakes. :glare: I hate living by empty fields. When they are mowed, the not-so-bright tractor dudes start at the opposite side from the houses and run the mice, snakes, and other critters into our yard. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Well, I don't know how to multi-quote, so I'll just answer some questions here. :) Fortunately, we don't have a crawlspace - our house is on a slab foundation. So nothing to check there. We will be checking the dryer vents. Yes, we kept the snake, and DH took it with him. He is going to see about getting it identified. Aren't there some county exchanges or coops or depts. or something that can do this?? It would make me feel better if it wasn't poisonous. I do know the markings can be similar. For the poster from Kansas, no worries. We are in MS, and unfortunately, copperheads and water moccasins are very common here. The closest encounter we've ever had previously was at former house, and we killed in baby copperhead in the garage/driveway. We were bringing in groceries at night, and DH almost stepped on it in his flip-flops, but I saw it first. :eek: I am a little worried about the fact it was a baby, and I still may call an exterminator. I really don't care how much it costs!! I'm not even a pet person, and I would actually consider getting a cat!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) Reducing Snake Problems Around Homes http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2277.htm from the Mississippi State University Extension Service Was the last inch or so of the snake's tail yellow? If so, definitely a copperhead. The babies have that distinguishing feature. http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/images/copperjuv4.jpg Edited October 23, 2009 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth Angel_79 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 They can come up through the toilets. However, a copperhead isn't a water snake... I don't know. If you have a crawl space under the house it would be worth having the exterminator out. We have two outdoor cats and believe it or not they help keep the snakes away. This is starting to sound like a horror flick -- the toilets! Snakes in the drains! (Sorry, my dh and I are on a Snakes on a Plane spoof kick right now.) Glad my toilet is on the 2nd floor...that's a lotta pipe to climb through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 This thread is scaring the poop out of me! :svengo::svengo::svengo: I don't know why I can't just not open snake threads. And anyway it's almost winter. What's that thing doing visiting people this close to winter???????!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Thanks, Rough Collie, for that link. That is very helpful. I called the local exterminator and they said there is no "chemical" or anything they can put to prevent snakes. Their only suggestion was to call animal control. A couple of people have suggested moth balls, but the link Rough Collie provided said that is not necessarily foolproof. I am going to call our county extension service and see if we can bring it by to identify for certain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I've done everything they suggest. We have a white pipe that drains something out from the basement. I made DH put wire mesh on that years ago. I make sure to replace it yearly with new mesh taped with electrical tape. Dh caulks around the house too. Now, our weather stripping does need to be replaced at the front door........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneRoomSchoolHouse Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 A friend of mine bought a houseplant from a nursery. Turns out she got a free gift with it, a baby snake curled up in the pot. She figured it out when she kept seeing little dirt trails to and from the pot. Did you bring in any new or previously outdoor plants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 A friend of mine bought a houseplant from a nursery. Turns out she got a free gift with it, a baby snake curled up in the pot. She figured it out when she kept seeing little dirt trails to and from the pot. Did you bring in any new or previously outdoor plants? No, but that is alarming!! I never would have thought of that either... Dang, sneaky snakes! One funny thing is my DD asked me after it was over if that was snake was Satan. :lol: But she didn't think it was since the one in her picture Bible was green! We of course, had a conversation after that about how Satan took the form of a snake, and was not actually a snake. 5 year old minds are funny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Sticky traps. Buy some sticky traps for piece of mind. My exterminator had put some out for catching spiders, and we actually catch snakes in the crawlspace and garage with them. You need the flat, white paper ones. Put them along walls and in corners, they will catch any remaining ones. What scares me is that it was a baby. Babies come from a batch of eggs. Yuck. :grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Sticky traps. Buy some sticky traps for piece of mind. My exterminator had put some out for catching spiders, and we actually catch snakes in the crawlspace and garage with them. You need the flat, white paper ones. Put them along walls and in corners, they will catch any remaining ones. What scares me is that it was a baby. Babies come from a batch of eggs. Yuck. :grouphug::grouphug: Can you get these at Home Depot or Lowe's? I'm kind of scared though. What if we put these out around the house and garage and we start catching all kinds of things I lived in happily in oblivion about! :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in NJ Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 We purchased "Snake Away" from Home Depot in the spring. We live near a lake and when the weather began warming up, the snakes began to sun out near the water's edge, in our yard. Our neighbor has always used the "Snake Away." He puts it all around the edges of the water and the areas near his house. The snakes will not cross this line of powdery substance. I think it has sulfur in it???? I don't know how long the stuff lasts, but we have only had a couple of snakes this year and they were near the deck over the lake. I suppose I could outline the deck with "Snake Away!" Just my 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 If you are in a brick house, they can come into the walls through the weep holes. These are tiny gaps left in some places between 2 bricks (done on purpose as part of the system for ventilating your house - not HVAC, but a building practice). They are usually just a few inches off the ground. I would walk around the house, looking for these weep holes. At each one, check the vicinity for the remnants of a nest. Wear thick shoes and long pants when you do it. For what it's worth, a baby that long could hardly get it's mouth open wide enough to get around someone's skin. Perhaps just a kid's little toes. Have your kids wear shoes in the house if there's a possibility there are more. This really could have been an adventurous, warmth-seeking stray baby. But if you by chance have a woodpile in the back yard, I'd have DH shake it down. Or at least be on the watch for copperheads when you go out for fire logs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 This thread is scaring the poop out of me! :svengo::svengo::svengo: I don't know why I can't just not open snake threads. And anyway it's almost winter. What's that thing doing visiting people this close to winter???????!!!!!!! Trying to stay warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 It was a medium-sized snake, and she saw it in the closet with the water heater in it, so I assume the snake came in around the water pipes??? Mama opened the closet door, saw the snake, slammed the closet door, grabbed me up and ran to the neighbors' house -- leaving my little sister napping in her crib! She called the police because she didn't know what else to do. An officer came and looked, but didn't see the snake. We never saw that snake, or any other snake, in the house again. Your mama just made me feel so much better. I'm not the only one that leaves their children with bad creatures. I was once outside with my oldest, then about a year old, when a bee got too close to me. I have a pretty decent fear of flying, stinging insects. I ran in the house and shut the door...leaving DD outside with the bees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 They can come up through the toilets. :blink::eek::svengo: Nightmares for sure tonight! :tongue_smilie: We have a garden snake under one of the bedrooms in our house. We see him peek out through the vent thing outside every now and then. This is an older house though. No advice. Just :grouphug:. I'd probably pass out if I found one IN my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kiddies Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 OMG! I would die....I am terrified of snakes!!!! Where do you live? I would get a cat ASAP! And I don't know if this is true but I always heard that snakes like to live under the box springs of your couch and bed so check there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Okay, I feel a wee bit better. I talked to the "snake man" at the county extension service, and he told me that baby snakes like that are very hard to identify, and that you can only determine poisonous vs. not by the way the scales on the belly fit together at the anal region. He said he sees snakes all the time in the field and deals with people "like me", and most of them are not poisonous. DH is going to try to get it by there today for him to identify. If not, we have to freeze it (UGH!) until next week. The man said "mam, I'm not trying to be rude, but your husband is not a snake expert...it's probably not a copperhead." I'm like, "Dude, you're not hurting my feelings. I HOPE and PRAY he and the neighbor are WRONG!" :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 YIKES!!! Please tell me you live somewhere farther south than Kansas.:scared: LOL. You and me both are hoping that! Sorry, I can't help with this one. I've had four inside in the last five years. :svengo: Dh said they were all kingsnakes, but I do have my suspicions about two. I think he was trying to make me feel better that they were "good" snakes. He doesn't realize that in my world, there are no "good" snakes. :glare: I hate living by empty fields. When they are mowed, the not-so-bright tractor dudes start at the opposite side from the houses and run the mice, snakes, and other critters into our yard. :001_huh: Exactly. There are no good snakes. Don't these guys read the Bible. Woman and snakes ... sworn enemies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheWillFly Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Oh, so shouldn't have opened this thread. :eek::svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam101 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) Scary! If you have a university in your town they might have someone that can help with identifying it. Check also around all your pipes where they come into the house. Edited October 23, 2009 by Tam101 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Knoll Mom Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I would go online and MAKE SURE that it was a copper head. Yes, please check. Baby black snakes are often misidentified as copperheads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 When we lived at Fort Bliss, TX we would find them in our basement. I absolutely hated living at that house because the laundry was downstairs. Needless to say...my husband did a lot of laundry while we lived there. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in FL Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 It could be a baby black racer. My neighbor accidently killed an entire nest of black racers thinking they were copperheads. Baby black racers are the snake you want around, black racers eat poisonous snakes. I'll try to link a picture. I've never done that before, so I'm not sure it will work. If it doesn't follow this link to see the picture. Let us know what it is. Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 A friend of mine bought a houseplant from a nursery. Turns out she got a free gift with it, a baby snake curled up in the pot. She figured it out when she kept seeing little dirt trails to and from the pot. Did you bring in any new or previously outdoor plants? Yep, this happened at my aunt's house when I was a kid. We had ridden to the store w/ her, she got some new potted plants, and they got carried in & set down in the kitchen. A little while later, my cousin noticed 'a tiny string or maybe a snake' on the kitchen floor. Turned out to be a baby copperhead. I'm always careful about bringing in plants that have been outside. At least we have cats.... :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 When we lived in North Florida beside a stream, we had 3 copperheads in our basement. Someone had left the sliding glass door open. They were very agressive and scared me to death. Thank goodness my dh was home and took care of killing them. We only lived there a few more months and I never, ever went back down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I am terrified of snakes, I so feel your horror. I live on lake in Alabama so I have had my share of snakes. I thankfully have a teen boy that watch the Australian snake guy and read every snake book and watch every snake program so he is really knowledgeable about poisonous and non poisonous. He removed a 4 ft rat snake from my basement in the spring. He has killed two water moccasin (baby size ) in my basement. He relocated a king snake. He says this snake will help keep the poisonous snakes away from the house. SO now I am always looking for the king snake. I know the snake is in the barn so I make lots of noise and poke around before I pick up anything. But I really want to scream!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 They can come up through the toilets. And they can fall out of washing machines right onto your bare feet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Update for those wanting to know: DH dropped the snake off at the county extension service. However, "snake man" is gone for the day, so it will be next week before he can identify it. They put in their freezer, along with another dead snake that somebody else found in their house today. Of course, it wasn't dead at the time either...:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamagirl Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I teach a bible class on thursday mornings, it's a class of first graders. Our classroom is on the basement level of a church with an outside door right beside it. Two weeks ago, I come in and they had just removed a baby rattlesnake from the room! Several kids were already there...God knew what he was doing when he made me a few minutes late that morning! When I was away at college my parents had a 6 foot long chicken snake in their house! Mom kept smelling this weird smell, took out all the garbage thinking that's where it was coming from. Went to get a shower and when she walked into the kitchen it was stretched out under the sink. She was at home alone, ran out of the house to get their 70 year old neighbor and he came and removed it! I have a snake phobia, so they kept it from me until years later my grandmother let it slip! They think that one came in from the fireplace, they have since closed it off and have never had another one! I've always said if we had a snake in our house, I would move...lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Here's hoping it was a rat snake or a milk snake. We've had those in our (very old) farmhouse. We don't mess with them in the crawlspaces, as rodents can also be a problem in these old houses with stacked stone foundations, and I'd rather have the snakes. I don't know about young copperheads, but adults have a distinctly arrow-shaped head and a thicker build. If the head was spoon shaped, I'd figure it was something else. Nests hatch out in the spring, I'm pretty sure, so this was much more likely to be looking for a place to hibernate. I found a poor dead baby milk snake under an area rug in my house the day after my daughter's fall birthday party one year. Poor thing got stampeded to death, and we never knew it was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Other suggestions? \ My cat used to bring in snakes. Got a indoor/outdoor kitty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Here's hoping it was a rat snake or a milk snake. We've had those in our (very old) farmhouse. We don't mess with them in the crawlspaces, as rodents can also be a problem in these old houses with stacked stone foundations, and I'd rather have the snakes. I don't know about young copperheads, but adults have a distinctly arrow-shaped head and a thicker build. If the head was spoon shaped, I'd figure it was something else. Nests hatch out in the spring, I'm pretty sure, so this was much more likely to be looking for a place to hibernate. I found a poor dead baby milk snake under an area rug in my house the day after my daughter's fall birthday party one year. Poor thing got stampeded to death, and we never knew it was there. Yes, I really hope the county extension service will tell me it was NP! As for trampling the milk snake during the party....:eek: He never had a chance, did he??!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olan719 Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 My cat used to bring in snakes. Got a indoor/outdoor kitty? Nope, we don't have any pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 So, anybody have any encouraging snake stories about how it was the LONE incident and NEVER EVER happened again. PLEASE?? DH did get a flashlight and go throughout the whole house just checking things out. My friend also told me to tell him to check the dryer vent. Other suggestions? Shanna :svengo:There is no smiley to describe the absolute panic and fear I would experience. I did pm you about DH's boss stepping on a snake in her garage and getting bit by it -- and it turned out to be nasty. To say that I would FREAK OUT would be the understatement of the millenium -- I have an out of control fear of snakes. I would imagine there is someone who could come in and inspect and insure that it was an anti-social reptile and travelled alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soph the vet Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 My ds has recently talked me into allowing him to have a corn snake as a pet. (Yet to be acquired) I told him if it EVER gets loose in the house he has exactly ten minutes to find it and then we are moving!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Yet another reason I can't imagine living without dogs. If nothing else, they give you warning. Rats, mice, snakes, racoons, strange noises from downstairs, obnoxius drunken males on the street..... I just send the dogs out. :D Only the coyotes are giving me pause - they're hunting in packs lately and running right through my yard. I think they'd do some serious damage to the dogs. Hope you find out good news. I like snakes from a distance & I've even held & touched pet ones but I'm not feeling the big love for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Yet another reason I can't imagine living without dogs. If nothing else, they give you warning. Rats, mice, snakes, racoons, strange noises from downstairs, obnoxius drunken males on the street..... I just send the dogs out. :D Only the coyotes are giving me pause - they're hunting in packs lately and running right through my yard. I think they'd do some serious damage to the dogs. Hope you find out good news. I like snakes from a distance & I've even held & touched pet ones but I'm not feeling the big love for them. Hornblower, If I had a big bird, I could have the same protection. Jane in NC has owls who will take care of all those creatures, except for the drunken males. As for drunken males and other 2 legged creatures, my uncle's German Sheppard sat on the floor and watched his house get robbed. (Turned out to be one of his young BIL's "friends" who had previously visited) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancer67 Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Oh my....I shouldn't pf opened this thread. But it sure makes happier that I live in New England. EEEWWWWW I hate snakes!! My hubby says you should buy a mongoose. That should fix your snake problem:D OMG, and toilets and wshing machines????? I am shuddering at the thought.......:001_huh: AAAACKKKKK!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.